So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that London'sIndependent newspaper is reporting about another set of feathered friends who are unruffled by same-sex unions: a pair of female royal albatrosses at a New Zealand breeding colony that have successfully incubated a chick.

Wildlife experts and rangers at the Taiaroa Head Royal Albatross Centre were thrilled, if not a bit surprised, when the two females set up a nest together. They’re one of only three such instances that the colony has recorded in more than 70 years, and they’re the first to successfully hatch a chick. According to the Independent:

Sam Inder, the manager of the centre, said: "It's an unusual situation because we've had a triangle with one male and two females for the past couple of years, and obviously that hasn't been terribly conducive to getting on with a breeding programme. This year the male left the trio, but obviously not before he had mated with one of the females."

While the male has not been seen since flying the coop, the chick’s two mothers are doing an excellent job of balancing the responsibilities of guarding and feeding their hatchling.